connection with it by both diligence and steamer, is DINAN, (Hotels Poste, Commerce). It is situated on the top of a steep hill of granite, and with the river Rance flowing through a valley 250 feet below, is romantic in a high degree. It is surrounded by walls and was formerly defended by a strong castle now a prison. In the older parts the streets are crooked, and many of the houses inferior, but in some parts, the overhanging houses and arcades resting on granite pillars, present many picturesque features, attractive to the antiquary and the artist. The cathedral of St Sauveur is a beautiful ornate edifice in the Romanesque style; it contains the heart of the famous Bertrand Duguesclin, of whom there is a statue on the central promenade of the tower. About a mile from the town in a deep glen, is a ferruginous spring, a favourite resort of the inhabitants. There is a large English colony resident at Dinan.

ST MALO is most conveniently reached from England, by way of SOUTHAMPTON. Steamers leave the latter place for St Malo, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, fares, first class, to St Malo, 35s.; second, 25s. Return tickets, 52s., 40s Steamers leave St Malo for Southampton on the same days of the week.]

Vitré (178 miles), affords a favourable specimen of a mediæval town. The fortifications are, for the most part, in good preservation. The Castle is now a prison. LAVAL (201 miles), on the Mayenne, presents much the same characteristics as Vitré. Its Cathedral is very handsome. The industry of the town consists principally in the manufacture of linen and cotton goods, and thread, Laval was conspicuous in the Vendean insurrection of

1792. The next place of interest is LE MANS (256 miles). (Hotel: de la Boule d'Or). (About twenty minutes allowed here for refreshment.) Henry II. of England, the first of the Plantagenets, was born here. The Cathedral is a noble building, and its internal decorations are magnificent. The southern transept contains a monument to Berengaria, wife of Richard Cœur de Lion. There are some Roman remains in various parts of the town, and a large stone, supposed to be Druidic, is embedded in one of the walls of the cathedral. Passing through a beautiful expanse of country, watered by the Huisne, we reach LA-FERTÉ-BERNARD (282 miles), a town about 2,615 inhabitants, with a beautiful church and a fine Hotel-de-Ville. The next stoppage is at NOGENT-LE-ROTROU (295 miles. (Hotel: du Dau phin). The town occupies an attractive situation on the Huisne. It contains three handsome churches; the church of Notre Dame is distinguished by its fine façade, of the thirteenth century; the church of St Laurent contains a picture of the martyrdom of that Saint; inthe church of St Hilaire are some beautiful carvings, pictures, and stainedglass windows. The Chateau St Jean, formerly the residence of Sully, stands on the side of a steep hill, and is approached by a flight of 150 steps. It is in tolerably good preservation, and has a picture-gallery in which are paintings by Van Dyck, Ruysdaêl, and other celebrated artists. CHARTRES (333 miles), (Hotel: Duc du Chartres); is an ancient town, built on the slope of a hill overlooking the river Eure. The Cathedral, one of the largest and most imposing ecclesiasticalstructures in Europe, with its lofty spires-one of them rising to a

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height of more than 400 ft.— stands on the summit of the hill. It contains 130 stainedglass windows of great beauty both of colouring and design. The church of St Pierre, and the obelisk to the memory of General Marceau, are also deserving of notice. Chartres has a large weekly corn-market, which is under the control of a corporation of women. There is, moreover, a tribunal of commerce, a botanic garden, and a public library of 30,000 volumes. ing Chartres, we cross the Faubourg St Jean over a viaduct of eighteen arches, and afterwards the Voise, and the valley through which it runs, on a viaduct of thirty-two arches, and presently reach MAINTENON (344 miles), situated at the confluence of the Eure and the Voise. We see the Castle with its demesne, given by Louis XIV. to his favourite Madame de Maintenon, widow of the celebrated Scarron. Here are also the ruins of an aqueduct, and some Roman and Druidical remains. Near Epernon (349 miles) are the ruins of a castle, and of the ancient Priory of St Thomas. RAMBOUILLET (357 miles) is situated near a forest of the same name. The Château was, for a long time, the residence of the French kings, until the abdication of Charles X. in 1830. Shortly before reaching Versailles (376 miles) we see, on the left, the military college of St Cyr. Passing Versailles, with its palaces and beautiful grounds, we arrive, in about twenty-five minutes, at Paris (Mont Parnasse Terminus).

ROUTE 72.

CHERBOURG TO PARIS.

229 miles. First class, 45.70 francs; second, 34.25 francs; third, 25.10 francs.

HERBOURG (Hotels: see "HOTEL LIST") is a fortified sea-port town and arsenal, situated at the head of a deep bay on the northern extremity of the peninsula of the Cotentin, on the English Channel, and opposite the Isle of Wight.

Cherbourg has long been one of the principal stations of the French navy, and its improvement has for many years occupied the attention of the French government. It has numerous docks and basins, and a spacious harbour. It is protected against hostile attempts by its powerful fortifications, and against the encroachments of the sea by a digue or breakwater 4120 yards in length. It has also a commercial port situated on the south-east, but it displays little activity. The town itself is insignificant, and there are no public buildings worthy of mention. are some manufactories of hosiery, chemicals, lace, and leather, as well as sugar and salt refineries. In 1758 Cherbourg was taken by the English, who destroyed the naval and military works, and levied a contribution on the town. The place has no antiquities of interest.

There

BAYEUX (63 miles.) (Hotel:

Y

du Luxembourg), an episcopal see, with a population of about 9500, is the first place of any note after we leave Cherbourg. The Cathedral, with its ancient crypt, is well worth inspection; but the principal object of interest is the celebrated Bayeux Tapestry, said to have been worked by Matilda, wife of William the Conqueror. It consists of fifty-eight compartments, representing incidents connected with the Norman invasion and conquest of England. It is preserved in a room in the Public Library, which, amongst other curiosities, contains the seal of Lothaire and that of William the Conqueror. From Bayeux we proceed to

CAEN (82 miles). (Hotels: sce "HOTEL LIST"), comprising a considerable number of English residents. (A delay of 20 minutes for refreshment.) The Church of St Etienne, erected by William the Conqueror, and in which his remains were buried, is a fine specimen of Norman architecture. A grey marble slab in front of the high altar marks his grave, but it was ransacked successively by the Hu guenots and the revolutionary mobs of 1793, and the bones disinterred and scattered. There are several other churches, and some noteworthy public buildings; amongst others, the Hotelde-Ville, which contains a good picture gallery; the Antiquarian Museum, that of the Société Francaise d'Archéologie, the Cabinet d'Histoire Naturelle, &c. The quarries supplied the celebrated stone of which Old London Bridge, the White Tower, Henry VII.'s Chapel, the cathedrals of Winchester and Canterbury, and many other churches throughout England are constructed. Lisieux (112 miles) has a plainly-built cathedral of the thirteenth century. [Lisieux is the junction

for TROUVILLE (Hotels: see "HoTEL LIST"), a fashionable bathing place, five hours from Paris by the Cherbourg railway. Seven trains daily. It has a fine casino, and the usual conveniences of large watering-places. It has a magnificent beach, and is one of the most frequented bathing places in France. Cabourg, Villers, Houlgate, Beuzeval, and Dives, all much frequented bathing places, are within twelve miles of Trouville. Daily omnibus from Trouville to each of them. A bridge over the Touques joins it to DEAUVILLE, also an agreeable and fashionable watering place, with fine hotels, casino, &c. Trouville and Deauville may also be reached by steamer several times a day from Havre in half an hour.] BERNAY (131 miles) (Hotels: du Cheval Blanc), a small manufacturing town. The ancient abbey, founded A.D. 1000, by Judith, the wife of Richard II., Duke of Normandy, and partially rebuilt in the seventeenth century, now serves as the town-hall. The public gardens are among the most beautiful in France. Passing Serquigny (135 miles), near which are the remains of a Roman camp called Fort St Mark, and Beaumont-le-Roger, a few miles further on, containing a fine church and the ruins of an abbey, we reach Conches (151 miles), pleasantly situated on the summit of a hill, near an extensive forest. Here are the ruins of the ancient Donjon or Keep, and those of a Benedictine Priory. We next stop at Evreux (162 miles) (Hotels: du Grand Carf, du Dauphin), where there is a noble cathedral, with the Episcopal Palace adjoining it, and at some distance the church of St Taurin, surmounted by a handsome belfry, and containing very rich internal decorations.

The